Feature: Acropolis Museum celebrates 6th birthday

The Acropolis Museum turns six on Saturday, and celebrates its birthday with the inauguration of an exhibition entitled "Samothrace. The mysteries of the great gods."

The museum is launching a series of exhibitions within which exceptional archaeological finds from remote museums will be brought to Athens and presented to Greek and foreign visitors.

For the first time, a total of 252 ancient artifacts, like sculptures, vases, inscriptions and statuettes, travelled from the northern Aegean island of Samothrace to the Greek capital to introduce to the public the famous mystery cults in Samothrace which were the most famous in antiquity, along with the Eleusinian ones.

Samothrace was the home of the sanctuary of Great Gods, a very important religious ceremony, where the Winged Victory of Samothrace was discovered in 1863 by the French archaeologist Charles Champoiseau and is now in the Louvre museum in Paris.

The strict prohibition against insiders ever divulging the contents of the sacraments has not allowed much information to be gleaned about the ancient mysteries.

"Archaeological excavations in the Sanctuary at Samothrace have brought to light buildings and paraphernalia belonging to the cult that allow us to form an impression of events," President of the Acropolis Museum Dimitris Pantermalis pointed out during a press conference this week.

Those who attended the rituals believed that by invoking the Great Gods they would be saved from any serious dangers at sea as members of the mysteries.

Many historical figures have been initiated into it, like the historian Herodotus and the father of Alexander the Great, King Phillip II of Macedonia.

Running until the end of September, the exhibition hosts a collection of items including Minoan era stamp seals and seal impressions with representations of a double ax and fish, a golden lion of Persian origin dedicated to the Great Gods by a soldier of Alexander the Great after his return from the expedition, among others.

On Saturday, the exhibition will open to public from 9 pm until midnight, while visitors will have also the opportunity to enjoy melodies from the interwar period, cinema and Greek operetta at the courtyard of the museum under the lights of stars.

Despite the six year economic crisis, the museum which was designed by architect Bernard Tschumiwith Michael Photiadis, has the ability to totally self-fund its operations.

Through its exhibitions it has achieved to attract more than 8 million visitors since its opening in the summer of 2009.

Among its accomplishments, outstands the innovative laser technique developed in coordination with the Foundation for Research and Technology in Crete for the conservation and restoration of Caryatids, which was awarded the International Institute for Conservation (IIC) in Vienna, with the Keck Award 2012. Endit